Lotus Seven Replica / Toyota A6-GE w/ Weber Carbs

Lotus 7 Replica

Titled as “2003 Assembled Vehicle” VIN# ASVE30092702

Toyota 4A-GE 1600cc, 16-Valve

Weber DCOE-40 Carbs

NO RESERVE!

Here is an immaculately turned out Lotus 7 inspired replica with Toyota 4A-GE 16-valve engine, 5-speed transmission and low mileage. PLEASE NOTE: We are listing this as a "1967 Lotus" only because eBay's genius super-computer will not accept the actual VIN and yearon the car's title, which are listedaccurately above.

High quality frame and panels by Champion Motorcar Co.(CMC). Thiscar is really nicely made, with nice neat welds on the tube frame, excellent fiberglass panels that fit, quality hardware all around and nice attention to detail everywhere. The nose cone (in front of the lift-off bonnet) is hinged to tilt forward for complete front access – a very cool trick, nicely excecuted. Note that the painted body panels (in Ford Competition Orange) match the paint finish on the frame, engine block, trans, brake calipers, etc. – All done in Imron; Neat! The Lucas headlamp housings look just right on here, as do the Lucas lamps on the rear…nice little touches. The aluminum tub gives this car a more authentic look than most of the myriad Lotus replica kits out there. The riveting is all very precise and secure, and the whole structure is extremely tight and sound compared to some of these types of cars we have seen.

The Toyota motor is a great choice and a popular one for Sevens: It fits perfectly, and with the pair of big Webers it even resembles the old Lotus-Ford twin-cam motor in layout. It’s powerful for its size, light enough that it makes for a nicely balanced chassis, and is very much in Colin Chapman’s less-is-more ethos. And you can get stuff for it at your corner NAPA....

We’re not going to waste your time or insult your intelligence with Wikipedia boiler-plate about Lotus 7s…We’d like to presume you already know what you’re looking at in terms of what these cars are and what youwant. Instead, let’s just concentrate on this particular car:

The current owner hashad this carforalmost fifteen years, and always kept it stored in his climate-controlled garage.Hedrove onlyabout thirty-five hundred miles over all those years. Judging by the finish on this car, we presume that the recorded mileage of just under 4600 miles may be credible, but can’t be substantiated. The painted fiberglass panels are beautiful, with very few marks or chips anywhere. The car has amazing presence: It looks bright, fresh, and very well made next to any other sports cars you will park next to at the localCars & Coffee.

The underbody is clean and free from damage, dents or any meaningful scrapes.

Tires are matched Z-rated Dunlops, 205/50-15, and are evenly worn. They are mounted on American Racing alloys, 7” wide with a JJ wheel flange lip (a bit bigger bead-seating area than a “standard” J.) These wheels apparently have different lug spacing, front-to-rear, as the owner informs that the spare wheel “fits the front”: Toyota front hubs, Mazda rear axle (see specs below). There is also an “extra front wheel”.

The interior shows little-to-no wear. The steering wheel (a classic British Mountney) is really like new: Nice leather, excellent stitching. The seats have no tears, look inviting, and are decently comfortable (orange piping is a neat touch!). Leg room and driver-fit seem just right for a pilot of between, say, 5’10” and 6’. There is a small bit of adjustment available by switching the seat backs from side-to-side: The passenger side one is about an inch thinner, and this is the means of gaining some leg room. (It works! The owner’s 6’-5” son can drive this car!). Alternately, a thicker seat back could be used to “shim things up”. The racing harnesses are fully adjustable, of course. The instrument panel is a plank of solid oak, with the gauges laid out for good visibility. The gauges work properly, with the exception of the tach, which seems to have frozen at 4500rpm recently. All controls and exterior lighting work. The owner has a clip-on, manual windshield wiper apparatus that goes with the car. There is a great little “boot” box behind the seats under the snap-on vinyl cover; it’s just big enough to hold the mounted fire extinguisher, the slick tonneau cover, and acute little“shower cap” for parking on cloudy days, with enough space left over for a bag of chips. (Please check out all of the extra detail photos on the link below.)

The car starts quickly with full choke. The 20W/50 in the crankcase doesn’t exactly agree with our cold Minnesota temps right now, so we had to be deft with the throttle and choke until getting the motor up to temp before it would smooth out or idle. The Webers snort and gurgle just like that old Alfa you loved! There is some smoke and oil smell coming from the tail pipe, which seems to reduce somewhat after the choke is pushed in. The owner says this didn’t happen before. It’s possible that the valve stem seals dried and cracked in storage (the car has been sitting undriven for quite some time), but we can make no promises or endorsement to that effect: Just trying to be honest and fair here, because that is the right thing to do and “full disclosure” has always been one of our professional hallmarks…In any case, you can see the youtube video link (see below) and judge for yourself. The plugs were fouled when the car was delivered. There were “colder” than stock ones installed. We replaced them with new NGKs BPCR6ES (correct heat range) and find the rear two are getting black after running for a while. The owner has a receipt for reconditioned cylinder head a couple of years ago (but not many miles), and the motor was reported to have been rebuilt before installation.

Compression readings (cold) are as follows, #1 thru #4, respectively:

165 – 165 – 170 – 150 (lbs/sq.in.).

The owner provided us with the following list of components that went into building this car:

PRI aluminum hubs on GT6 uprights and front spindles

PRI dual adjustable coil-over shocks – Springs 250 front, 150 rear

11.25” vented front rotors. Wilwood 4-pot calipers w/ racing pads

1986 Toyota 4A-GE engine w/custom header

1986 Toyota Corolla 5-speed transmission

Ford U-joints

Crane Fireball ignition

Mini Supertrap muffler

1974 MGB Brake master cylinder & clutch master ; 1974 TR6 clutch slave

1985 Mazda Rx7 rear end, limited slip diff & disc brakes

TR7 steering gear, Spitfire steering column & switches, Chrysler steering knuckle

Spitfire radiator, 183-inch electric fan w/ dash-mounted switch control

Front fender and rear tail-light assemblies from Superformance

Harley Hog headlight sealed beams and front turn signals

Caterham windshield, frame and wind wings

Aluminum 6-gallon fuel tank with TR6 sending unit & Smiths fuel gauge, SU electric fuel pump from MGB

Autometer gauges, Painless wiring harness, Painless 12-circuit fuse block, TR6 battery box

Fiberglass nose, bonnet, scuttle and tube frameby Champion Motorcar Company, Alabama

Here is an opportunity for someone to get into a beautifully built and very nicely trimmed Seven with the right mechanical specs at a reasonable price. The owner is forced by a variety of circumstances to let go of his car (which he loves!) and allow it to be sold at no reserve with a low opening bid price. This represents a real potential bargain price considering his original investment and, all things considered, the overall condition of the car.

HIGH BID BUYS THIS CAR NEXT WEEK!